Before Paul McCartney was the bassist for one of the most famous bands in the world, he was one of countless teens poring over Elvis Presley records with awe and excitement. The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll played an integral part in McCartney’s development as a musician, drawing him away from his family background of more straight-laced jazz and into the realm of rowdier rock and blues.
One Presley song in particular taught the Liverpudlian about music’s potential to make an emotional impact. And interestingly, it was one of the few times Presley came up with the idea for a hit song.
Paul McCartney’s Pivotal Childhood Memory Of An Elvis Presley Hit
Paul McCartney was a teenager in Liverpool when Elvis Presley was putting out his first rock ‘n’ roll records (pre-military draft). McCartney and his Beatles bandmates have all cited a pre-Army Elvis as being an incredible influence and inspiration to their childhood musical tastes. “We were mad Elvis fans before he went in the army,” McCartney said during a 1999 interview. “We were kids, and he was a little bit more grown-up than we were. But we still identified to the kind of youthfulness of him. So, we just loved him. He could do nothing wrong.”
The Wings founder recalled a story where he and a friend, Ian James, were walking around the local fairgrounds in the hopes of striking up a conversation with some girls. When their plans didn’t pan out the way they had hoped, the boys sulked back to James’ grandmother’s house. James told McCartney to put on Presley’s “All Shook Up,” a single he released in March 1957 with the B-side, “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin.” McCartney said that in just two minutes, both boys had experienced a complete emotional turnaround.
“The blues had gone. The headache had gone. We were like new people,” McCartney said. “I just love that song so much for being able to do that. There’s just good moments like that, very reminiscent of the kind of moments you had when you were just starting a band.”
The Song Was A Distinct Feature Of The King’s Discography
While Elvis Presley was undoubtedly a prolific and incredibly successful recording artist, a songwriter he was not. The majority of his catalogue was covers, but he did have a few ideas here and there that songwriters turned into hit tracks. “All Shook Up” was one example of Presley providing the songwriter, in this case, Otis Blackwell, with the inspiration for the song. “I went to bed one night, had quite a dream, and woke up all shook up. I phoned a pal and told him about it. By morning, he had a new song,” Presley said in October 1957.
“I never wrote a song in my life,” he added. “I get one-third of the credit for recording it. It makes me look smarter than I am.” Still, it’s fascinating to think that one of the most significant Presley songs to McCartney also happened to be one of the few that the King of Rock and Roll helped create.